Timeline: Triangle Expressway toll road project to improve Raleigh traffic by 2028

Construction is set to begin on the final section of the Triangle Expressway, a toll road aimed to improve traffic in Raleigh by 2028.

North Carolina will receive up to a $417.2 million loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Complete 540 project, the USDOT announced Thursday.

Construction started four years ago on N.C. Highway 540, the six-lane Triangle Expressway.

Phase 2 will extend the Triangle Expressway 10.8 miles, completing N.C. 540 from I-40 at Garner to the existing Interstate 540 in Knightdale. The extension will mirror the existing Triangle Expressway as a 70 mph, six-lane all-electronic toll road.

"These last 10 miles complete that new 70-mile-long beltway," said Joe Milazzo with the Regional Transportation Alliance. "Game-changing is an overused phrase, [but] you cannot overstate how important this is for eastern North Carolina, for central North Carolina and the entire metropolitan Triangle."

The project will improve congestion in the greater Raleigh area by adding five new interchange connections and a crossing over the Neuse River, providing an additional evacuation route from the coastlines in case of emergencies.

“This important infrastructure project will provide congestion relief by allowing local north-south travelers options to avoid the busiest segments of 540 in southwest Raleigh,” said Polly Trottenberg, deputy transportation secretary for the USDOT. “Completing the route will also ensure the community has an additional evacuation route to help during emergencies such as hurricanes on the coast.”

The $1.3 billion Phase 2 project will connect to Phase 1’s 17.1-mile project currently under construction. According to the state, construction for Phase 2 is scheduled to begin in May. If the rest of the winter is mild, Phase 1 is on track to open mid-2024.

Norman Gage has witnessed rapid growth living in Holly Springs since 1993.

Add the new I-540 project – his home just steps away from roadway under construction.

"Living behind the wall is going to be a large change and something I’m not happy about," Gage said. 

The Phase 2 project includes six interchanges, 24 bridges and 14 culverts, with construction expected to be completed in 2028.

Joe Milazzo with the Regional Transportation Alliance looks forward to reducing traffic on major roadways and a boost to local economies where I-540 runs through.

"You cannot overstate how important this is for eastern NC, central NC, and the entire metropolitan triangle," Milazzo said.